Glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptor expression in critical illness: A narrative review

Figure 1 Cortisol signaling through the glucocorticoid receptor. Cortisol signaling is mediated by a ubiquitous intracellular receptor protein, the glucocorticoidreceptor (GCR). Once it binds to cortisol, the receptor-cortisol complex translocates from the cytosol to the nucleus. In the nucleus, the complex exerts transcriptional activation or repression by directly binding to genes that contain glucocorticoid (GC) responsive elements (GREs), resulting in the inhibition of the inflammatory response. GC-GCR: Cortisol-glucocorticoid receptor complex.